LOS ANGELES — A judge on Friday issued a temporary ruling allowing visitation with 4-year-old triplets to a mother so badly brain damaged by medical errors during childbirth that she can no longer walk, talk or eat.

Rates of women who are opting for preventive mastectomies, such as Angeline Jolie, have increased by an estimated 50 percent in recent years, experts say. But many doctors are puzzled because the operation doesn't carry a 100 percent guarantee, it's major surgery -- and women have other options, from a once-a-day pill to careful monitoring.

Attorneys for both sides praised the tentative 10-page order issued by Superior Court Judge Frederick C. Shaller, who ruled after a two-week hearing that 34-year-old Abbie Dorn would be granted visits of three hours a day for five days each summer at the home in Myrtle Beach, S.C. where her parents care for her.

Lisa Helfland Meyer, attorney for Dorn's parents, said the decision set a precedent for "every single parent out there with any sort of disability."

"I think this is an astounding victory," Meyer said at a news conference. "The court held that this parent has the same right as any other parent to have visitation and a relationship with their child."

Shaller also ordered that the children could have a 30-minute monthly videoconference with their mother, a move Meyer said would establish a "wonderful continuity" between mother and children.

But Shaller's decision granted far less than the triplets' grandparents had asked for, and father Dan Dorn's attorney Vicki Greene said her side got exactly what they wanted — just five days of visits, all supervised by the father, Dan Dorn, who is raising the children at his Los Angeles home. The grandparents, in a lawsuit that is awaiting a trial date, are seeking four weeks of visitation without the father's presence.

Greene said the ruling confirmed their contention that grandmother Susan Cohen's beliefs were contradictory to those of the father and that she had a negative effect on the children.

"The judge recognized the father's right to parent his children without undue influence from the grandparents," said Greene who expressed hope that the two sides could accept the ruling's temporary provisions and avoid trial.

Father can control who is at visits
The ruling required that Dan Dorn would not just be in the room for the visits but would control them, and could forbid anyone including Susan Cohen or any other family members from being in the room.

Cohen said on a conference call from her home that she shared the judge's decision with her daughter and got a happy reaction.

"She gave me a long, long blink and a huge smile," Cohen said.

Medical and legal evidence show that Abbie Dorn would not have been capable of such a response.

The judge called it "more likely that not" that Dorn "does not have any cognitive function, that her eye blinking and smiling and movements are involuntary." He later added, explaining the short visits, that though a bond has been established, "there is no purpose to exposing the children to a prolonged period with their comatose mother."

The judge did praise the "impressive" care given by Susan Cohen, calling her a "tireless, fully devoted and successful advocate for her daughter."

But the ruling directly forbids her from telling the children anything about what their mother thinks, saying anything about her prognosis, or suggesting that she may recover.

Greene argued during a hearing earlier this week that Abbie Dorn was so badly injured giving birth that she is no longer capable of being a parent, and that Cohen was an "unfit grandmother" who would fill them with unrealistic expectations that their mother might recover.

Attorneys for Abbie Dorn's family said that although Dorn may be incapable of taking part in a traditional mother-child relationship, that doesn't mean no relationship is possible.

"Even though Abbie can't interact with the kids, the kids can interact with Abbie," Meyer said at the news conference.

Abbie Dorn had given birth without incident to son Reuvi and daughter Esti, on June 20, 2006, but as a doctor was delivering a second son, Yossi, he accidentally nicked he uterus. Before doctors could stop the bleeding, her heart had stopped, a defibrillator malfunctioned and her brain was deprived of oxygen.

A year later Dan Dorn divorced her, believing she would never recover.

Meyer said that despite the ruling being temporary and the visits being short, she believes the time the triplets spend with their mother will lead to more, pointing out that visitation rights can constantly be modified.

"This is a beginning," she said. "As the children get older, as they become more bonded to their mother they will have additional time."

She also said the family hopes the visits will change the father's attitude.

"I hope that when Dan finally sees the benefit to the children having a relationship with their mother that he will change his feelings," Meyer said. "This is only a win-win for everybody."

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Video: Paralyzed mom may lose right to see children

Closed captioning of: Paralyzed mom may lose right to see children

>>>time now for today's "news nation" gut check. just a few short hours from now, a california judge is set to rule on whether a paralyzed woman who cannot eat, speak or move, is entitled to regular
visitation rights
with her three young children. paralyzed after a medical mistake while giving birth to triplets in
2006
. her ex-husband, who left her after he according to reports, determined that she was not going to be able to make a full recovery, thinks the children would be traumatized by spending too much time with their mother. he is now raising the children on his own. abbey's parents have hired attorneys to fight for visits. her parent says just because she's paralyzed does not mean that she does not love her children and they say she has a constitutional right to see her children who now live in a separate state because abbey's parents are her primary caretakers.
superior court
judge shaler is expected to rule today after hearing closing arguenments from both sides. the attorneys were supposed to join "news nation" but they were called at the last minute into a closed-door meeting, perhaps, regarding a development in the case. we tried to reach out to the ex-husband of abbey, his attorneys, but they never called us back. according, though to her parents, abbey is able to communicate by blinking her eyes. when asked if she wanted to see her children, they believe she indicated such in responding with the blink of the eye. injuries, the paralyzing situation for the mother, occurred while giving birth to these triplets. her uterus was ruptured by a doctor and as a result $8 million malpractice settlement. her parents oversee it. for his part, her ex-husband insists that the children will be traumatized. they did see their mother in december for four days and all parties agreed it was a pleasant visit and it went well. the question at this point, what does your gut tell you.

>>should the judge rule in favor of allowing children to spend time with their mother, even if she does not have the ability to communicate and she's paralyzed. a heck of a question. an unprecedented case. for the family, they say it is about
parental rights
and a koon constitutional right for the individual. cast your vote. we hope to have attorneys on tomorrow. that